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Rating: 
Summary: Good, but mildly disappointing.
Review: Don't misunderstand this is a good collection. Some of these stories were a little too personal, but they were good. My problem's that the 2 years best anthologies A. Choose stories that cover the same ground (sometimes the exact stories that get Nebula nominations) & ,in some instances, cover it better & B. Cover more ground & have a better variety. Neither of the year's best have poetry so it does have that advantage. The essays are also an advantage, except I think Dozois does a good job in his summation. The essays do show a variety of opinions though. I didn't like griffith's because she seemed to say lesbian sf is the best sf about women. I think there are many great women sf authors who don't write lesbian or even feminist stories. The winners are ,of course among the best, but the McHugh, Bova, & the Wilhelm I also enjoyed. I've noticed that Wilhelm is somewhat unusual in science fiction in that I think her work deal with the concerns of middle aged women to a large extent. I liked her story even though I'm a 21 yr. old man, but it'd probably make more sense to the group I mentioned. I think Haldeman's won the hugo. In shot stick with the 2 yr's best unless you want essays or poetry.
Rating: 
Summary: A perfect score is too low!
Review: How can anyone rate a book that is made up of the very best of the best in speculative fiction? A perfect score is too low.
The Nebula Awards represent the highest accolade in science fiction, and the 30th Anniversary issue represents perhaps the finest collection to date. From the engaging work of David Gerrold in "The Martian Child," to the tightly worded and frighteningly real "None So Blind", this book shines with pure genius.
I've waited a decade for a collection of fiction this original... and here it is
Rating:
Summary: Good, but I prefer the 2 yrs best.
Review: If you like essays, deeply personal works, & poetry this is what you should stick with. Otherwise the 2 yrs best are better. "The Martian Child" was a great story that didn't really need to be science fiction & I honestly don't think it was, it wasn't fantasy either. Basically it's about the science fiction community & becoming a father. In some respects I think the SFFWA chose stories that are perhaps more interesting to sf authors then readers. Many of these stories are basically about the authors themselves or the sf community at large. Consequently ,I think, some of these stories were almost too personal & "inside" for average readers. "Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge" was a good Stapledonian story, "Defense of the Social Contracts" was a genuine sociocultural speculation, & I liked Bova's. There were other good ones too & I liked seeing the Rhysling winners. The essays were also intriguing & provocative. It was actually a great anthology, but I think I'll keep up with the year's best more faithfully then the Nebula anthologies.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but I prefer the 2 yrs best.
Review: If you like essays, deeply personal works, & poetry this is what you should stick with. Otherwise the 2 yrs best are better. "The Martian Child" was a great story that didn't really need to be science fiction & I honestly don't think it was, it wasn't fantasy either. Basically it's about the science fiction community & becoming a father. In some respects I think the SFFWA chose stories that are perhaps more interesting to sf authors then readers. Many of these stories are basically about the authors themselves or the sf community at large. Consequently ,I think, some of these stories were almost too personal & "inside" for average readers. "Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge" was a good Stapledonian story, "Defense of the Social Contracts" was a genuine sociocultural speculation, & I liked Bova's. There were other good ones too & I liked seeing the Rhysling winners. The essays were also intriguing & provocative. It was actually a great anthology, but I think I'll keep up with the year's best more faithfully then the Nebula anthologies.
Rating: 
Summary: The best sci-fi of 1994 - but was 1994 such a good year?
Review: Obviously enough, there is just no possibility that in a single year there will be enough groundbreaking science fiction and fantasy written to fill a book the size of Nebula Awards 30. In fact, some of the pieces in this collection are downright tepid (at least in my opinion, but yours may differ). Included within are:Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge by Mike Resnick: an alien archeologist gets seven glimpses into the nature of mankind (now extinct), on a progressively more radioactive Earth. May drag around the edges. 4 stars. Inspiration by Ben Bova: a visitor from the future attempts to give young Einstein the impetus to voice his beliefs on physics (and thus, oddly enough, save the future Earth from being a radioactive dump) by giving him a copy of Well's The Time Machine. Not quite interesting. 3 stars. Virtual Love by Maureen F. McHugh: two online virtuosos, off-line nobodies, are mesmerized by each other's mastery with false visages. Nice imagery. 4 stars. None So Blind by Joe Halderman: "Why aren't blind people geniuses?" A child genius falls in love with a blind musician and creates a greater intelligence. 3 stars. Fortyday by Damon Knight: in an alternate Roman Empire humans grow biologically older until they are forty, and then age in reverse. 4 stars. In Memoriam: Robert Bloch by Frank M. Robinson: an overview of Robert Bloch's life (Bloch died in 1994). The Martian Child by David Gerrold: Not quite science fiction. A sci-fi writer father suspects that his adopted child is a Martian. Very endearing. 4 stars. Rhysling Award Winners - poetry by W. Gregory Stweart and Robert Frazier, Jeff Vandermeer, and Bruce Boston: since I never enjoyed Science fiction poetry, I will not evaluate this part. Understanding Enthropy by Barry N. Malzberg: It doesn't have a plot. 2 stars. I Know What You're Thinking by Kate Wilhelm: A telepathic Woman can't blot out the chatter in her mind and starts taking pictures of contemplating criminals as a hobby. It drags. 3 stars. A defense of Social Contracts by Martha Soukup: In a society where strife is minimized by one's marital permit - monogamous, polygamous, or free not to marry, a woman seeks to illegally bind a "nonmonogamous" man to herself with false marital documents. This is the ultimate in writing about sex with absolutely no emotion whatsoever. 3 stars. From a Park Bench to the Great Beyond: The Science Fiction and Fantasy Films of 1994 by Kathi Maio: an overview of exactly what the title says. Non-fiction. The Matter of Segri by Ursula LeGuin: Yet another story in the Ekumen series - a planet, where men are basically breeder drones and women are the only part of the organized society per se, is slowly nudged towards the "standards". Lots and lots of the f-word. Come on, she could have used a synomim! 4 stars. An Excerpt from Moving Mars by Gregory Benford: since this is only an excerpt, I cannot grade it.
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